Happy Hour Cupcakes!

Margarita cupcakes, strawberry margarita cupcakes, and chocolate dark beer cupcakes with salted caramel buttercream and chocolate ganache filling.  The cupcakes all have alcohol (tequilla or Negra Modela beer) in the cake, the filling, and the frosting.  

Here is the recipe for the strawberry margarita cupcakes:

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
Zest and juice of 1½ limes (approximately 3 tablespoons of juice)
2 tablespoons good quality tequila
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ to 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

1/3 cup strawberry jam

½ cup sour cream

To Brush the Cupcakes:
 2 to 4 tablespoons good quality tequila

For the Tequila Strawberry-Lime Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2¾ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice (about ½ lime)
2 tablespoons good quality tequila

½ to ¾ cup fresh strawberry puree (Puree about 1 cup of chopped strawberries with a little water in a blender until smooth.   Push puree through a fine sieve to remove seeds.)
Pinch of coarse salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes).

4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

5. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract , tequila, strawberry jam, and chopped strawberries. Mix until combined. (The mixture will start to look curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will all come back together, power on!)

6. Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the sour cream in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.

7. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a skewer shows only moist crumbs attached.

8. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. Using a skewer, poke several holes all over the top of each cupcake.  Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 2 to 4 tablespoons of tequila. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.

9. To make the frosting, whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the lime juice, tequila, strawberry puree, and salt. Mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with lime zest, an additional sprinkling of salt and a cut strawberry.